splint wrote:But like I said, that's just me. I don't recommend anyone take anyone's advice like it's gold, official dietician, government RDA board, friends, family members,or what have you. Try things out and figure out what works for you. If 15% helps yoiu build muscle go for it. If you're not seeing results, play with the percentages.

I absolutely agree. But just to add some gas to the fire, here's a podcast where Dr. Monte Ladner (the host of the podcast, Fitness Rocks) interviews Dr. David Nieman about vegetarian athletes. In his study, Dr. Nieman found that:

The available evidence supports neither a beneficial nor a detrimental effect of a vegetarian diet on physical performance capacity, especially when carbohydrate intake is controlled for.

Please note that this is for aerobic endurance, not quite what we train for in SimpleFit. His study found no problems with heavier phytate intake from whole grains.

One of the more controversial points in his paper is a summary from another study that found no improvement in power in vegetarian athletes who use creatine supplementation (vegetarians have lower natural creatine levels that the general population).

The most controversial point that comes up in the interview is the idea that, as RDA levels of protein and "healthy" blood iron levels (ie, are you anemic?) were set when meat consumption was high relative to other points in history, the normal values have been set at artificially high, and perhaps unhealthy, levels. Part of the evidence provided for this is that slight "anemia" has been linked to lower rates of both coronary artery disease and cancer. A common side effect of exercise is lower body stores of iron; it has been speculated that this is how exercise helps lower heart disease.

Thanks a lot for the great tips guys! I really appreciate it. And a mention to a previous poster who mistakenly called me "she": I am a guy.

I haven't been able to keep track of this thread as I was just moving back to university and getting a hang of the routine here for my classes. I am here now.

I think I have a lot of information here to get started (in many cases, overinformation).

I'll try things out and see what works for me. For now, I think I'll stick with nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables, and diary products in my diet. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with all the nitty gritty details of how much I am consuming, but I think I should be able to see results. I know I am eating as healthy as possible.

As of right now, my goal is to just add definition to my body, not necessarily bulk up and gain muscle like Arnold Schwarzenegger or something (unless I am missing some information, or I don't know something about muscle building).

You guys can continue this debate if you want to, I really don't mind. I'm going to keep updating my workout log in the other thread.